Four minors among those killed in crashes this long weekend

An early morning joyride ended in tragedy for the families of five teenagers in Joliette.

According to the Sûreté du Québec, the boys were in a vehicle, belonging to one of the teen's parents, traveling at high speed when it skidded off the road and struck a tree.

A 14-year-old and 17-year-old were killed, while a 13-year-old and 16-year-old remain in hospital fighting for their lives.

The driver, a 15-year-old boy, suffered minor injuries. He met with provincial police and was released from custody on a promise to appear in court next month to face charges of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death.

The identities of the victims have not been released, but many in the town gathered at the site of the crash to pay their respects to the teens.

Joshua Lemay and his brother Isaac were friends with the victims, and the accident hit home for the family. Isaac had been invited by his friends to join them on the joyride, but his father caught him trying to sneak out Saturday night and grounded him.

After learning what happened to their friends, Isaac and his brother told their father they had gone on a similar joyride last week, in the same car.

"We had a long talk about that," Alain Lemay said. "We do our best as parents but we can't lock them up."

The boys said these type of outings happen often in their area. Driving at high speeds, on dark roads, they said it's only by chance they haven't been killed in the past.

Tragedy also hit the small town of La Conception, near Mont-Tremblant early Monday.

Sûreté du Québec officers were called to the scene of an accident on Route 117 north at about 7:45 A.M.

Police found a vehicle off the road at kilometre 126, the 27-year-old driver and one passenger, a young girl, were declared dead at the scene.

A second minor, a young boy, was rushed to hospital but died shortly before noon.

Investigators are trying to determine how the driver lost control and the exact time the accident happened.

Quebec school boards ran a collective $141 million dollar surplus last year, but the president of the Quebec Federation of School Boards says given that the annual school board budget is $11 billion, the surplus is modest.